Windows 10: Web analytics firms kick off New Year with more suspicious

Discus and support Web analytics firms kick off New Year with more suspicious in Windows 10 News to solve the problem; Oops, they did it again.
Yesterday, as is its custom on the first day of the month, the analytics firm Net Applications (aka Net Market Share)...
Discussion in 'Windows 10 News' started by labeeman, Jan 2, 2015.

Web analytics firms kick off New Year with more suspicious

Oops, they did it again.

Yesterday, as is its custom on the first day of the month, the analytics firm Net Applications (aka Net Market Share) published its monthly report on worldwide usage of web browsers and operating systems. Apparently, December 2014 was a time of great transformation, with hundreds of millions of people suddenly changing their computing habits almost literally overnight.
Here, for example, is what initially appeared on the Desktop Top Browser Share Trend page:

No, those numbers make no sense. Netscape Navigator, a product that died more than a decade ago, did not suddenly reappear on 1 in every 12 computers worldwide in an HTTP-powered Zombie Apocalypse, nor did several hundred million people suddenly decide to drop Internet Explorer and begin using Chrome.
Today, that chart has been replaced with this more plausible-looking version:

I'm a Nokia engineer, and I'm part of the team which has implemented the Nokia Analytics Collector. I'm not an official Nokia spokesperson, so what I write are not official Nokia statements. That being said, I have a good understanding of the software, what
it does, and what it doesn't do. I would like to volunteer my time to answer in detail a few of the questions that have been asked.

Question: How does the Nokia Analytics Collector work?

Answer:

The Nokia Analytics Collector is a "library" which can be utilised by an application. It is not an application, and doesn't do or send anything only by itself. Each application using the Nokia Analytics Collector has to define what application data it logs,
these are typically tags indicating "application's feature X was used", or hopefully less commonly, "application error Y occurred".

This application data is then enriched by the Nokia Analytics Collector with some standard data items. The standard data items would be, for example, the timestamp and phone model information, but not personal data such as the user's email address or phone
number. I want to specifically mention that no user-generated content is in these data items.

The data is sent via a https network connection, if a data connection is available (data network is connected). A data connection is not opened if it's not already available. Also, by default no data is sent if the data connection is over a roaming network,
however an application may override this. The frequency of sending is that typically one network request (data sending) is made by the Nokia Analytics Collector when an application is started and running, if a data connection is available.

Question: How much data does the Nokia Analytics Collector send?

Answer:

The data amount sent depends on each application using the Nokia Analytics Collector. Typically the amount of data traffic is small, a few kilobytes per one connection. Of this few kilobytes in the typical case, most of the data bytes are due to the https protocol,
while the actual data sent by Nokia Analytics Collector can then be less than 1 kilobyte in size.

Question: How do I turn the Nokia Analytics Collector off?

Answer:

Every application using the Nokia Analytics Collector has a setting inside the application for analytics or feedback collection which controls the Nokia Analytics Collector usage. The terms and conditions of the application will mention when the analytics collection
is used, and give instructions on how to turn it off. When the setting is off, it will disable data collection and data sending by the Nokia Analytics Collector for that application. There will be one more data connection made, which contains the information
that the user has chosen not to participate (opt-out), but it does not contain any data from the application.

To make this more user friendly, in the next release there will be a centralized setting in the phone's application settings for improvement program participation. This can be used to turn off the Nokia Analytics Collector for all applications. This next release
is already available with some applications in Betalabs.

Question: Can I uninstall it? What happens if I uninstall it?

Answer:

Since applications which use Nokia Analytics Collector expect it to be present, they may crash or not start if the Nokia Analytics Collector is uninstalled. This depends on the application's implementation technology, specifically Qt QML applications are not
affected in this way. It's recommended to not uninstall the Nokia Analytics Collector because of this possibility of applications crashing or not starting. It would not be readily apparent to the user that this problem with the application is not a bug in
the application or the phone malfunctioning.

The recommended way to disable Nokia Analytics Collector is to turn it off from the application's settings.

Web analytics firms kick off New Year with more suspicious

Nokia will release Firmware wid Stereo Bluetooth Support

Hello Shayesta

I'm Supporting you in your theory.. I mean, how weird this for nokia, to release a new Firm for N73, not more than 3 weeks after the previous firm, and integrate Stero Bluetooth support in the Firm, then launch 3 new Stereo Bluetooth Headsets?!!

I really hope this theory is real and they release a new non buggy N80 firm.

Not surprised to see "Firefox" tanking so badly. Just another example of unbridled arrogance with a team not listening at all to it's users. The result was all too predictable.

Click to expand...

I thought the reason Firefox is losing ground because the browser doesn't or didn't work well on small mobile devices. They are still working on that though. They are trying to regain ground. I really hate those mobile devices too small to read and use. That why I never bought a smart phone even prepaid.

I need things big for me to read or use.

What gets me is why more people are using Google Chrome with the privacy issues aside from Internet explorer. People didn't use to keep cookies on their hard drive, but people do now thanks to banks. I found a way around that by creating different firefox profiles. I have 3 which includes the default. Those other 2 profiles are using for banking and web based email. The default is use for forums and other things, which I can delete the cookies and other stuff without issues.

Not surprised to see "Firefox" tanking so badly. Just another example of unbridled arrogance with a team not listening at all to it's users. The result was all too predictable.

Click to expand...

Mozilla are wasting their time adding pointless fluff features and making horrible GUI changes.
They need to fix the broken features/functions like the Bookmarks Manager and the Spell Checker.
Those two items have been broken for 3 or 4 years now (at least).

I swapped to Pale Moon ~18 months ago.
The Bookmarks Manager and the Spell Checker are broken in it too, but at least the GUI isn't.

I thought the reason Firefox is losing ground because the browser doesn't or didn't work well on small mobile devices.

Click to expand...

The graph is supposed to be showing the Desktop Browser Usage statistics.

I found a way around that by creating different firefox profiles. I have 3 which includes the default. Those other 2 profiles are using for banking and web based email. The default is use for forums and other things, which I can delete the cookies and other stuff without issues.

Click to expand...

Multiple profiles have pluses and minuses.

The add-ons have been set up in a stupid fashion.
Every add-on has to be updated individually in every profile.

I have multiple profiles (7 in Windows and 5 in Linux).
FF used to struggle because (apparently) I had too many bookmarks for a single profile.

As an aside, what happened to statistic collecting agencies in 2014?
There have been complaints about the unemployment stats here in Australia.
I think there was also a similar issue in the US.

I thought the reason Firefox is losing ground because the browser doesn't or didn't work well on small mobile devices.

Click to expand...

The graph is supposed to be showing the Desktop Browser Usage statistics. How come I.E./Google chrome are showing an increase in usage if there is really a decline in desktop usage? I wonder if they are also including laptops or anything that acts like a PC in the statistics. A lot of articles claim the desktop PC is going out.

A desktop computer is a personal computer in a form intended for regular use at a single location desk/table due to its size and power requirements, as opposed to a laptop whose rechargeable battery and compact dimensions allow it to be regularly carried and used in different locations. The most common configuration is a computer monitor, keyboard and mouse, and a case that houses the main components of the PC, namely the power supply, motherboard, hard drive, optical drive, and previously the floppy drive. The form factor of the case is typically an upright tower or (horizontal) desktop. All-in-one computers, that integrate the monitor and main PC components in one unit, are often categorized under the desktop computer umbrella, particularly if they require an external power source and separate keyboard/mouse. The desktop category has also encompassed home computers and workstations.

The graph is supposed to be showing the Desktop Browser Usage statistics.

Click to expand...

How come I.E./Google chrome are showing an increase in usage if there is really a decline in desktop usage? I wonder if they are also including laptops or anything that acts like a PC in the statistics. A lot of articles claim the desktop PC is going out. I'm not sure if laptops are included in the Desktop category.
IE and Chrome could show an increased share of the category, even if total desktop PC numbers drop.

Suspicious web site claiming to be Microsoft.: Today I received a popup web site claiming to be from Microsoft and asking for personal information. The address is http://3.16.166.238/. What is the procedure for reporting this to Microsoft?
Thank you....

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